August 26, 2009

Reporters Notebooks

Kathleen Megan, Hartford Courant: Connecticut is replacing its cheerleaders with a "spirit squad."
A spokesman said "we want people formerly called cheerleaders to focus
in on building spirit at UConn, on spending time working on ways to
engage fans and to really spread Husky spirit" rather than spend hours
perfecting stunts. Thanks to Ben Maller.

Andy Staples, SI.com: Hats off to SI.com, which says fans have the
right to know how coaches vote each week in the USA Today poll, which is one of the determining factors in selecting teams for Bowl Championship Series games. SI.com has made open records requests to 51 of the 59 coaches at public universities for their coaches' poll ballots. Every ballot SI receives will be published.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida was the first school to respond to SI.com's request. Jim Leavitt, who has talked repeatedly in the past few weeks about how young and unproven his team is, ranked the Bulls No. 18, the highest ranking of four Big East teams on his ballot. Leavitt voted Oklahoma No. 1.

Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher: Gannett has directed its daily newspapers that cover the Southeastern Conference not to sign on to a controversial new credential policy, while the Associated Press has also declared it will not agree to the new rules that have sparked opposition for limits on Web video and audio use, photo displays, and blogging.

Penn State Clips: Penn State's 2010 game at Indiana is being moved to FedEx Field in Landover, Md., essentially giving the Nittany Lions another conference home game. Many Big Ten bloggers are angry after hearing the news.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego State has added another opponent
to its schedule — the media. Team practices, personnel evaluations,
assessments about the team's progress — all are being closely guarded
behind closed gates and vaguely worded answers to the media. Thanks to
Mike!

Clay Carey, Tennessean: The A&E television network is being sued for using a few bars of "Rocky Top" in a 12-second video clip without permission.

Iliana Limón, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida officials supervising Ereck Plancher the day he died did not know he tested positive for sickle cell trait, according to depositions and statements made in court.

Wendell Barnhouse, Big 12 Sports.com: The Southeastern Conference can claim superiority with three consecutive national championships. But the SEC and the rest of college football has to take a back seat to the Big 12 Conference when it comes to the sport's iconic individual award.

James Tyree, Oklahoman: Eric S. Thunander, a former Oklahoma player who wrote an autobiography about dealing with hearing loss and depression, faces felony charges of child molestation and pornography.

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